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He told reporters earlier in the week he was banged up, but hadn’t yet been told he wasn’t playing in the first of this weekend’s game.
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Before the Canucks met the Calgary Flames on Saturday night, Manny Malhotra told us the winger wasn’t feeling well and wasn’t going to be an option.
And so we saw the lineup that had practised on Friday take on the Flames, leading the team to a 4-1 victory vs. Calgary. It was an entertaining effort, but Calgary aren’t exactly a deep team. Even their top end lacks quality.
Sunday, the Canucks face the Vegas Golden Knights, who are a much different entity.
The buzz: Vancouver will be playing their third game in four nights, fourth in six.
Vegas played Friday at home vs. Anaheim, losing 4-3.
Tired team vs. a favourite to win the division? Is this another underdog story?
Leevi Meriläinen played Saturday vs. Calgary, so it’s fair to assume that Kevin Lankinen will start in goal. Might we see the season debut of one of the spare defencemen, Guillaume Brisebois or Victor Mancini? Aatu Raty finally drew in as the fourth-line centre on Saturday. Assuming DeBrusk is still out, it’s fair to assume he’ll stay in the lineup, even after he was launched from behind into the end boards.
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The history: Vegas outscored the Canucks 11-5 across three games last season, with VGK winning all three encounters.
The hope: Vancouver played a lot better in their own end on Saturday vs. the not-great Flames, shutting the door on top of the crease much better than they did in either game earlier in the week. They also are playing with aggression as much as they can, so there are some very fun moments. Will that be enough against a veteran crew like Vegas?
The fear: The Canucks are lacking in scoring talent as it is; if DeBrusk is a no-go, that makes it all the harder to compete.
The top guns: Paul Cotter and Marco Rossi both have three goals through two games. Elias Pettersson, the forward, has four points. Is any of this sustainable?
The wounded: Canucks: DeBrusk, ankle (day-to-day), Demko, hip surgery recovery (IR); and Filip Chytil, shoulder (IR). Golden Knights: Raphael Lavoie, undisclosed (day-to-day); Lukas Cormier, undisclosed (IR); Ben Hemmerling, undisclosed (IR); Kai Uchac, undisclosed (IR).
The quote: “That’s good. I mean, we like how we always end the games, like with a push, but like we gotta start with that hunger.” — Elias Pettersson
The projected lineup:
Rossi-Pettersson-Karlsson.
Öhgren-Cotter-Boeser.
Bains-Sasson-Lekkerimäki.
O’Connor-Raty-Gallagher.
Buium-Hronek.
Oleksiak-Willander.
Pettersson-Schenn.
Lankinen
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